WMATA begins new fare gate installation at NoMa-Gallaudet U Station
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will temporarily close each entrance to its NoMa-Gallaudet U Station to install new faregates as part of a system wide initiative to modernize its fare system.
WMATA will replace all 1,200 faregates at its 91 existing stations and six new stations to maintain a state of good repair and improve the customer experience. The authority says the new brush-finished stainless steel faregates allow for quicker and easier access to the Metrorail system, feature larger, modernized displays and include enhanced safety features such as improved motion sensors to allow for quicker pass-through at the gate.
The initiative launched in August 2021 with the first new faregates being installed at the Potomac Avenue and Federal Center SW Metrorail Stations. WMATA replaced approximately 75 percent of faregates across the system, with the project expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Metro’s faregate replacement project is part of an overall fare modernization program that also includes mobile payment options with Apple Pay for iPhone and Apple Watch and Google Pay for Android devices, new fareboxes on WMATA’s bus fleet and the replacement of cash and coin only parking meters with new modern pay stations.
Work at NoMa Station will require a staggered entrance closure due to what WMATA says is the “unique challenges” of the station. WMATA will repair and replace the under-floor structure, which requires the entire array of faregates to be removed at once, rather than in sections. During construction, crews will cut and remove the concrete, lay new conduit and ducts, run all new wiring, refill the concrete and lay new tiles. Once the infrastructure work is complete, the new faregates can be installed and tested and the entrance reopened.
The station’s entrances will be closed for two weeks each, starting with the south entrance at M St NW; once work is completed, the south entrance will reopen and the north entrance work will begin.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
